Mindy Woods’ Crispy Pork Belly with Native Citrus Caramel
This luscious recipe is from Mindy Woods’ Karkalla At Home: Native foods & everyday recipes for connecting to Country. Mindy is a proud Bundjalung woman who recently won the Champions of Change Award as part of the The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2025 programme.
“Pork belly is always a crowd-pleaser, and this is no exception,” says Mindy. “Dressed in a native citrus caramel, it will have your guests begging for more. For an extra-special presentation, serve on betel leaves.”
Inroduction
About this Recipe
By: Sheridan Rogers
For best results, begin this recipe a day ahead to allow time for drying out the pork belly overnight in the fridge, to achieve the ultimate crackling experience.
“This really shines with native flavours – but if any are tricky to find, more accessible alternatives can also do the trick. Consider finely shredded makrut lime leaf in place of the Geraldton wax; 2 teaspoons of fennel seeds in place of the anise myrtle; and the zest of 1 lemon in place of the lemon myrtle. The finished dish will be a close runner-up to the real deal,” says Mindy.
Ingredients
Serves 4 – 6
- pork belly, off the bone, 1.2 Kg
- salt flakes, 2 tablespoons
Native Citrus Caramel: - coriander roots, 4, scraped
- native ginger, 6cm piece, roughly chopped
- fresh turmeric, 2 cm piece, roughly chopped or 1/2 teaspon ground turmeric
- macadmia oil, 4 tablespoons
- light palm sugar, 100g
- orange juice, 400 ml
- lemongrass stalk, 1, thinly sliced
- anise myrtle leaves, 4 – 6
- lemon myrtle leaves, 3
- Geraldton wax, 4 teaspoons
- lime juice, 100ml
- finger limes, 8, pulped
Remove the pork from its packaging and dry thoroughly with paper towel. Score the skin of the pork and, for best results, allow it to dry, uncovered, in the fridge overnight.
When you’re ready to cook the pork, preheat the oven to 220°C (425°F) fan-forced.
Season the pork belly generously with the salt flakes, rubbing it into the scored skin. Place the meat on a trivet in a roasting tin and cook for 40 minutes until the skin has crackled.
Reduce the oven temperature to 180°C (350°F) fan-forced, and cook for 1 hour or until the meat is cooked through and the juices run clear. Leave to rest for 15 minutes before carving.
To make the native citrus caramel, pound the coriander, ginger and turmeric to a fine paste using a pestle and mortar, or blend in a small food processor. Heat the oil in a small heavy-based frying pan over medium heat and fry the paste, stirring constantly, until it is just starting to colour. Stir in the sugar and 21⁄2 tablespoons
of water and cook until the sugar dissolves. Add the orange juice, lemongrass and all the myrtle leaves and bring to the boil, then turn down to a simmer and slowly reduce to a syrup consistency. Pour the caramel into a jug and allow to cool before stirring through the Geraldton wax, lime juice and finger lime pearls.
Carve the pork into thick slices and arrange on a platter, then pour the native citrus caramel over the sliced pork and serve.
Images and text from Karkalla at Home by Mindy Woods, photography by Rob Palmer. Murdoch Books RRP $49.99.’